There are several ways of spreading creams or lotions over the body, and of massaging portions of the body, in such a way that there is substantially constant contact by the implement doing the spreading or massaging with the skin. The most obvious, of course, is simply to use the hand to spread a cream or lotion over portions of the body; otherwise, various manufactured implements can be used.
There are various kinds of lotions or creams that are intended to be spread over various parts of the body. There are facial ointments of varying kinds to be applied to the face and neck tissues; body lotions for skin toning, moisturising or as skin colorants; tanning lotions and sun shielding creams and lotions; depilatory lotions and creams; and more recently reducing creams and lotions such as those which are particularly intended to reduce cellulite or water retention in body tissue. Many such implements are, of course, sold over the cosmetic counters, and it is to that channel of trade that the present invention is directed.
At the same time as a woman (usually) is applying a lotion such as a body lotion or a reducing cream, she may wish to massage the skin and body tissue where the cream or lotion is being applied. To use the hand may be unacceptable--especially if there is some skin reaction to take place--and in any event requires thorough washing and rinsing of the hand after the application process has been completed. Moreover, use of the hand does not necessarily provide the massaging stimulus that is required, if not for other reasons than simply that it is sometimes difficult to apply or use the strength of the fingers in an effectual manner. On the other hand, use of implements such as ball-type rollers of the kind used principally for applying deodorants or antiperspirants, is not acceptable because the area being contacted is too small and because the ball must continue to be lubricated by the lotion from within a dispenser. Often, it is at least desirable to initially spread or dispense he lotion from a squeeze dispenser, or possibly using a tissue or the like; especially if the cream or lotion is one which is sold at a premium or higher price, and does not lend itself to being sold in a self-dispensing container in the same manner as deodorants.
The present invention provides an apparatus or implement for spreading lotion or cream over portions of the body, while at the same time permitting a massaging action of the body tissue over which the implement is moved. This invention recognizes that the best effect as to massaging is accomplished by having a number of independently moving contacting surfaces against the skin, where the material which those contacting surfaces defines may itself be somewhat resilient or pliable so as to permit greater or lesser pressure against the skin surface--and so as to accommodate slight irregularities in the skin and tissue surface such as when being moved over a cellulite deposit or over portions of the body where bone structure may be close to the surface such as ribs, backbone, shoulder blades, pelvis, cheek bones or jaw and chin structure. This is achieved by the provision of a plurality of wheel components which are independently mounted one of the other on at least one axle, and which are rotatable independently one of another on the axle. Still further, the wheel components are formed of a material which is relatively soft and pliable, so that it has some "give" or compressibility when pressed against the skin surface.
Ideally, each of the wheel components is configured so that it is not round at its circumference or periphery; rather, each wheel component is configured so as to have at least five major faces--usually, six--around its periphery, where each face is gently concavely curved and the transition between adjacent faces is more prominently convexly curved. The wheels, and the materials from which they may be formed, are discussed in greater detail hereafter.
The present invention also recognizes that for such purposes as applying facial creams and lotions to the face and neck, it may be desirable that there be only a single axle having a few wheels mounted thereon; whereas for applying body lotions and especially reducing creams and the like, it may be desirable for there to be a plurality of axles that are mounted one behind another. Still further, in a preferred embodiment of a multi-axle lotion and cream applicator according to the present invention, a protrusion may be upstanding from the body portion of the applicator in which the multiple axles are mounted, so as to provide somewhat greater control by positioning the protrusion between adjacent fingers of the hand in which the applicator is held.
The prior art includes a device which has a plurality of wheels each having mushroom-shaped protrusions or pips that are formed of an injection moulded plastic that is quite rigid. A particular example of such an applicator is that which is the subject of an industrial design registration in the name of the present inventor, presently Canadian application No. 21-12-84-7. Other prior art devices include the following:
THOROGOOD et al, in WIPO Publication No. 8502984 published July 18, 1985, disclose an applicator for applying a depilatory compound which is relatively fluid in nature. That structure, however, requires and teaches only a single generally cylindrical roller which has an indented surface, and which is located in the mouth of a reservoir so as to be fed the depilatory composition from one side and to deposit it on the skin at the other side of the applicator head.
Another lotion applicator which is hand held is taught by KALES in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,356 issued Nov. 20, 1984; but that applicator has a pad on a flexible bail inserted into a handle, so that the pad--which is flattened--may remain in uniform contact with the user's skin. The pad is associated with a flip-top cap which, when open and when the applicator is tilted downwardly, permits the lotion to drip onto the pad.
GAMACHE in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,350 issued Dec. 5, 1978 also teaches an applicator which is associated with a cosmetic container. The applicator has a body member which has a metering channel, and a roller associated with it to pick up sun tan lotion or the like and spread it on the body.
One other body massager and/or cosmetic applicator is that taught in ZIMMER U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,016 issued Nov. 24, 1970, and it also uses a ball-type roller which is arranged in such a way that it may be in rolling engagement with the body and with the cosmetic or beauty cream to be applied. In this case, a plurality of ball-type rollers may be situated across a base member having a plurality of openings, one of each of which communicates with each ball roller.
The present invention, in contradistinction to any of the prior art, does not contemplate having a dispenser associated with the applicator; and more particularly, it does contemplate having a plurality of independently rotatable wheels or rollers, each of which has an indented or non-circular periphery, so that a lotion spreading and body massaging action can be achieved at the same time.
One embodiment of the present invention also contemplates a handle portion associated with a single axle on which a plurality of wheels according to the present invention are mounted, where the axle is retained between a pair of spring arms so that there is flexibility not only in the wheels themselves but also in the spring arms so as to provide greater adjustment of the cream applying and massaging pressure of the wheels against the body. This has been found to be of particular advantage when supplied in small sizes for use with facial creams and lotions, and in larger sizes for use with body lotions.